"Over 30 million people in rural communities have been severely hit, losing most of their assets," the Food and Agriculture Organisation said in a statement.

"Thousands of hectares of farmland were destroyed, millions of farm animals died, houses and grain stores collapsed and thousands of pieces of agricultural machinery were damaged," the Rome-based agency said following a fact-finding mission to the province.

"People in the villages have demonstrated great resilience and have expressed their strong willingness to return back to their fields and resume farming and food production," said emergency coordinator Rajendra Aryal.

"It will probably take three to five years to rebuild the agricultural sector," he added.

"A significant portion of wheat crops could not be harvested after the earthquake due to the lack of labour as a result of deaths and injuries in farming families," the FAO said.

The region also faces shortages of pesticides and fertilisers, it said.

These inputs are needed immediately as well as farm tools and machinery, Aryal said, adding that "reclaiming damaged fields will be the main challenge for the next six months."

In the medium and long term, efforts should focus on repairing water reservoirs, dams, animal shelters and other infrastructure, the FAO said.

The May 12 earthquake, the most severe to hit China in 32 years, destroyed large swathes of Sichuan and left more than 87,000 people dead or missing.

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